House Emergency Supplemental Bill to Deal with Border Crisis is a Step in the Right Direction, but Much More Needs to be Done, Says FAIR

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the ... Facebook Twitter Pinterest

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest. Visit FAIR's website at www.fairus.org. (PRNewsFoto/FAIR)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The last minute action by the House of Representatives, approving legislation to deal with the ongoing border crisis, will provide both needed funding and allow for quicker repatriation of illegal aliens who enter the United States and lack a valid claim to stay, says the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

However, the bill does not address the underlying cause of the border crisis, which is the Obama administration's systematic dismantlement of immigration enforcement, its defiant refusal to enforce most immigration laws, and its unilateral decisions to grant de facto amnesty to broad classes of illegal aliens.

The Supplemental Appropriation closes the loophole in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), which has had the perverse effect of encouraging human smuggling and mass illegal immigration of younger illegal aliens. The tweaks made to the TVPRA assures that that true victims of human trafficking will continue to be protected but allows immigration officials to deal quickly with minors and entire families attempting to gain entry to the U.S. for purely economic reasons.

The Supplemental Appropriation authorizes additional funding for the National Guard to assist during this crisis and reimburses local governments that have been affected by the situation. The bill provides additional money to detain and care for illegal aliens who are apprehended while attempting to enter the country illegally and also provides resources for additional judges to reduce backlogs and to repatriate illegal aliens who are not eligible to remain.

In a separate vote, the House moved to address one of the root causes of the flood of Central American illegal aliens when it voted to restrict expansion of the president's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Since the announcement of that program in 2012, the number of younger illegal aliens attempting to enter the country has grown exponentially.

"The bill that was approved this evening is a vast improvement over the one that was pulled from consideration on Thursday," noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "It is not a perfect bill, but it is a positive step in the effort to regain some control over our immigration policies.

FAIR also applauds the House for its efforts to limit the unauthorized DACA program and prevent further abuse of executive authority to subvert enforcement of immigration laws.

"Unfortunately, the Senate leadership has indicated that they will not support similar legislation in that body. Instead, Senate leaders seem to want to spend additional taxpayer money to manage the crisis, rather than adopt the legislative and policy changes necessary to end the crisis," continued Stein. "Moreover, it is becoming increasingly likely that the crisis Congress will face when they return to work in September will be exponentially greater than when they left.

"President Obama has signaled his intent to assert even greater discretionary authority to exempt as many as 5-6 million illegal aliens from immigration enforcement, and grant many of them work authorization. If he carries through on that threat, both Houses of Congress will have to address not only an even much greater immigration crisis, but an overt threat to the Constitution's Separation of Powers Doctrine," Stein concluded.